Old Testament Overview

3 dimensions - literary, historical, theological
39books - over 1000 years or more
books are customarily divided into 4 groups: Law, History, Prophecy, Poetry

Biblical History
Abraham - called by God to go from Mesopotamia --> Canaan - promises of descendants.
Promise passed on to son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob.
Jacob's descendants migrated to Egypt. Slavery.
God sent Moses to lead them to promised land Canaan.
Long process, made covenant @ Mount Sinai - nation of Israel bound to God as his people.

Form of government of the covenant when the Israelites settled into Canaan.
King Saul - false start
David - great leader, united the trives, established capital city, secured borders, set up proper admin.
Solomon - ambitious, unwise policies --> dissatisfaction.
Solomon's son - rebellion, 10 tribes of north withdrew to become kingdom of Israel, while dynasty of David continued to rule over southern kingdom of Judah.

Secession led to general decline in north & south.
Prophets continued to call the people back to faith and God's covenant.
North defeated by Assyrians 722BC, ceased to be an independent state.
Babylon defeated south, Jerusalem destroyed 586BC, most people deported, Judah ceased to be a political entity.

Jews' exile in Babylon ended when
Cyrus the Persian overcame Babylon's power, captives returned home 538BC
Many Jews stayed in Babylon, good life.
Jews who returned struggled reconstructing state of Judah. With the Persians, they reconstructed Jerusalem and the Temple.
But glory of the golden age of David and Solomon never returned, OT period comes to an end.

3.5 centuries between OT and NT - most complex political developments in the Jewish state,
Fall of the Persian Empire when Alexander the Great came into Asia Minor, to Egypt and Babylon to the borders of India.
Hellenistic culture - conflict between pagan Greek philosophies and Hebrew devotion of the Law and religion of the one True God.

Middle of 1st century BC, Romans entered Middle East region, Jews ended up in the province of the Roman Empire.